Backyard barbequing of meat and other foods provides an excellent way to enjoy the very best of smoked food preparation. One popular way to achieve the smoky flavor that barbequing makes possible uses charcoal or charcoal briquettes as the heat source. These heat sources are ignited and allowed to burn for a period of time after which the cooks uses their embers to smoke cook the food. Unfortunately, traditional methods for igniting charcoal require the use of an igniting fluid or similar aid to burn for a sufficiently long time for the charcoal to light.
The main problems with lighting fluid or similar aids include the likelihood that the lighting fluid or at least fumes from the lighting fluid will penetrate into the cooking food. Also, lighting fluid is itself an environmental pollutant. Still another frustrating aspect of lighting fluid is that the user generally must be carrying the lighting fluid as a separate, dangerously combustible item.
Yet another frustration occurs when the user applies either too much or too little lighting fluid. If too much fluid is used a large, uncontrollable and dangerous fire may result. If too little is used, the charcoal may not begin a self-sustaining burn prior to depleting the applied fluid. Furthermore, if the user applies new fluid to an active fire or smoldering ember, a further uncontrollable combustion may result.
All of these limitations suggest the need for a way to achieve the same igniting of charcoal for barbequing and the like without the need to use a lighting fluid.
Accordingly, there is the need for way to light charcoal or similar substances for barbequing and the like that avoids the use of lighting fluid.
There is the need for a clean or non-polluting way to light charcoal or similar substances that does not affect the cooking food.
Others in the prior art have attempted in various ways to promote the uniform heating of charcoal through orienting the charcoal in a vertical stack within the combustible package. The combustible package in such applications is constructed to be vertically upstanding, thereby orienting the charcoal to be vertically stacked around a central flue. As the combustible package is consumed, combustion gasses flow up through the central flue, providing for the heating of the charcoal from the center. The central flue also promotes the self-feeding of the charcoal into the center as the central flue is consumed by the fire. However, the central flue concentrates the heat of the fire within the center of the charcoal stack only, thus neglecting the outer edges of the charcoal.
Another approach attempts to extend the flue across the width of the combustible package, thereby increasing the quantity of charcoal affected by the centrally concentrated heat. This approach provides a second compartment beneath the stack of charcoal for containing an igniter for igniting the fire. Again, this configuration's use of the combustion gases neglects the outer perimeter of the charcoal.
Yet another approach attempts, but fails to address the charcoal along an outer perimeter. Such a configuration provides a combustible package that includes a generally octagonal platform, a centrally located chimney, a wall attached to the platform's perimeter, and an igniter. Along the platform's base are a number of holes that seek to draw air into the perimeter. While this configuration may provide a modest improvement over prior art devices, it fails to either provide a sustainable or a truly rapid heating of the charcoal. Because the package has no mechanism to assure that the package will sustain a flame for any period of time, the package may burn either completely or to a point where no further igniting combustion occurs. The result is simply hot, but unlit charcoal. In addition, because the holes at the platform base simply draw in ambient air into the charcoal peripheral chamber, the effect may, in fact, be to not provide the sought-after igniting at all.
As can be appreciated from the above, the prior art has not succeeded in providing a self=igniting combustion package which uses the full potential of the heat generated by the incipient flame for purpose s of preheating a quantity of charcoal.
Therefore, what is needed is a simple, combustible package having a built-in igniter and which provides for the uniform heating of a quantity of charcoal by concentrating the combustion heat not only beneath and at the center of the quantity of charcoal, but also along the perimeter of the charcoal.
There is a further need for a way to ignite charcoal or similar substances for heating or cooking that provides for a sustained burning of the heating substance.
A need exists for a way to ignite charcoal or similar substances that avoids the need to also use a lighting fluid.
Still a need exists for a way to ignite and burn charcoal and similar heating substances that provides a truly biodegradable or non-polluting alternative to polluting or contaminating situation which happens with the use of lightning fluid or similar substances.